A new journey for Mahesh

A man of humble beginnings, K

Mahesh Sukhadhare

's own life story would probably be worthy of a film script by itself. One among the four children to his father ' a farmer in a small village near Mandya, Mahesh was the only child who was inclined to pursuing academics when compared to his siblings. 'My father sent me to

Mysuru

to pursue my education, which is where I was introduced to creative fields such as theatre and later films,' reveals the director.
'When I began my career in films in 1997 with Sambhrama, it was a time when we had institutions in the form of people ' individuals who made a great impact on society through their work in theatre and films,' says the director, whose debut turned out to be one among the few films that made just the right kind of impact. 'There was a certain kind of emotion I felt before the release of my first film, one of both fear and confidence at the same time. Years later, I had a similar feeling when I directed Sainika, which went on to win awards. And now, we are looking at releasing our next '

Happy Birthday

' this Friday. Strangely, I feel exactly the same way yet again. While

Sambhrama

was a love story, and

Sainika

was a story set against the war, Happy Birthday will appeal to the middle class. It will be a story that so many people who move from the village into the city will relate to because of the true emotions depicted here,' explains Mahesh.
While Mahesh has previously only worked with bigger stars in the film industry, this is the first time he has cast a newbie in the lead role. 'Since I've worked with a newcomer, Happy Birthday in a way marks the beginning of a second journey of mine in the industry. However, I have to say that the entire team, including the music and dialogues department, as well as our four action directors, has worked at keeping the freshness that comes with this story, as well as its all-new cast ' Sachin and Samskruthy Shenoy. The two have been an extremely dedicated set of actors. Their commitment made me feel like I was working with professionals rather than a set of newbies. When a director has a cooperative team ' both cast and technicians ' his job becomes easy,' he says.